Golden Mage - Chapter 62

Volume 3, Episode 2

“Attend the Kingdom’s Central Conference…?”

Three days after dealing with Moss and others, El received a magical letter from the palace. Since the communication channel between the palace and the tower had been established, receiving such magical letters was no inconvenience.

Deep in thought, El pondered over the letter sent by Desillon.

The current situation in the Tolian Kingdom resembled the previous turmoil. The Third Prince’s faction, leveraging the hidden power of the royal family, had become the strongest, overwhelming the other two factions. However, in terms of noble influence, they were lacking and unable to gain an upper hand in the political arena.

While they maintained some legitimacy in the political sphere, most of the central nobles were part of either the First or Second Prince’s factions, sometimes forming alliances and other times clashing, leading the kingdom into an unpredictable situation.

Especially after the recent monster invasion, the Earl Terrandel, who perfectly repelled the attack, received commendations from King Redolph. He was lauded for eradicating the trolls and defeating the other noble, Earl Rowellin. It was a case where the skills were displayed by one but the rewards and wealth were collected by another.

“I wonder what the king is thinking. Is he trying to use my appearance to benefit the Third Prince’s faction? Or is it merely to announce the Tower’s presence…”

It didn’t matter which way it went. However, the Tower had always remained neutral according to the continent’s tradition, and nobles would see El as the decisive trump card, capable of determining victories.

By introducing El to the nobles, King Redolph could make them perceive him as an asset to the Third Prince’s faction or a neutral entity. Ultimately, this move was intended to draw El into the political arena, creating a situation that would favor the Third Prince’s faction or benefit both sides.

El could see through the king’s intentions. Ever since the king first approached him with this proposal, he had anticipated something like this.

Now, El was willing to go along with the king’s intentions. He had his own thoughts in mind, after all.

“Let’s use this opportunity to elevate the Viscount Laviers to the central political stage. With her extraordinary talent as a sword expert in her early twenties, she can easily rise among the central nobles.”

With the substantial export of seafood, the Laviers Viscounty had already laid the foundation for revival. However, a family’s revival could not be achieved solely through wealth; that was a fact.

If Rowellin became a central noble, she would be admired by knights for her genius sword skills, and a considerable number of knights would gather under the Laviers Viscounty’s banner.

At the upcoming conference, the nobles would learn that El was backing Laviers Viscounty. In this way, no noble would dare to provoke the Laviers Viscounty carelessly.

Moreover, the king would appear to be quietly supporting the Laviers Viscounty. In short, El also planned to utilize King Redolph, not in a negative sense, but simply as a fact.

“Since he used me, I can’t really feel bad about it.”

Thinking this way, El nodded and stood up from his seat. There were only five days left before the kingdom’s central conference, considering El’s status as a magician; it was a short period.

El had meals with Cilfir, the twelve knights selected as Magic Knights, and Kaina, whom he hadn’t dined with in a while.

“That’s why I’m going alone.”

During their meal, El talked to Cilfir and Kaina about the letter he received from the palace. Cilfir paid attention to the story about Laviers Viscounty. Then, she greeted El with gratitude.

“Thank you so much for all your help. To be honest, I never imagined Laviers Viscounty would become that powerful through our family’s efforts.”

At the time when El first said he was going to the Tolian Kingdom, Cilfir had an intuitive feeling that Laviers Viscounty existed, which led her to choose that place.

Laviers Viscounty was the family of her husband. However, it had fallen into ruin due to a family’s mistake. The fact that Laviers Viscounty was gradually reviving was enough to make her heart ache.

Now El was saying he would help even more.

It was only natural for her to feel grateful, and on the other hand, it was heartwarming to see El, whom she supported, helping her family.

“As Laviers Viscounty continues to grow, it will soon regain its former glory.”

El replied with a smile to Cilfir’s words. Thanks to her, El could leave with peace of mind.

“Uh? What did you say?”

Rowellin was taken aback. El asked if she had any intention of advancing into the central political arena. It was a shocking proposal to her, who had never even dreamt of rising to the central stage while establishing her impoverished territory.

El asked her again, “Isn’t Laviers Viscounty still not strong enough to compete with Terrandel Viscounty? Shouldn’t we prevent Earl Terrandel from acting recklessly in the central political arena?”

The audacious acts of the Terrandel Viscounty that exploited their commendations for repelling monsters were becoming more pronounced. They continuously demanded marriage, claiming they were the reason Laviers Viscounty survived the monster attack.

“…?”

At El’s words, Rowellin unconsciously bit her lip.

The image of Terrandel’s arrogant messengers flashed in her mind, and she felt the urge to punch them on the spot.

But power was everything. Without enough power, she couldn’t do such a thing.

In that sense, El’s words were quite appealing to Rowellin.

At this moment, when her family was gradually regaining strength, if she could rise to the capital and increase her influence, it would be very beneficial.

Despite being in a remote area, Rowellin was well aware of the kingdom’s affairs. The current situation, divided into three factions, was terribly turbulent, and if the Tower’s master appeared now, they would undoubtedly rise as a storm’s core.

And by stating that he would support her, El meant that he would become her background. She understood El’s intention quite well.

Rowellin suddenly had a strange feeling. She was curious about El, who was trying so hard to help her.

With wide eyes, she gazed at El, who met her gaze.

Rowellin opened her mouth and spoke with a trembling voice, “Is there any price for your help…? Surely…?”

“What do you mean?”

El tilted his head, puzzled by Rowellin’s reaction. She trembled and instinctively wrapped her body with her arms, shrinking a bit. She misunderstood, thinking El might ask for her body in return for his help.

‘Huh?’

Seeing her reaction, El made an astonished expression. Rowellin’s response was unexpected.

But after thinking about it for a moment, that wasn’t it either. From her perspective, she could indeed show such a reaction after experiencing all the hardships she had.

So, from that standpoint, El’s words were very attractive to Rowellin.

He was asking for nothing in return. He suddenly appeared and saved her from the Orc invasion, buying all the useless items from her family. Moreover, he offered to become her background, helping the revival of her family.

Rowellin didn’t know El’s true identity. She didn’t know that he was the son of Leian Rubius, who should have become the Earl Rubius.

So how could she understand El’s actions? It was too much for her to accept it as pure goodwill, given the hardships she had faced so far.